


Clear Day

by thefarofixer



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, Future Fic, Getting Together, M/M, Proposals, S8 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 11:47:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17022036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefarofixer/pseuds/thefarofixer
Summary: It’s Voltron’s fifth annual Actually Showing Up On Clear Day Day, and technically it’s Lance’s turn to skip it.A self indulgent fluffy fix-it fic set five years after the events of Voltron Season 8.(spoiler alert, everybody lives)





	Clear Day

**Author's Note:**

> I mean it should be pretty clear by now but this fic contains spoilers for season 8. It is Shiro/Keith-centric, but also involves Allura/Lance to a lesser degree, fyi.
> 
> I am in the middle of studying for finals and stupidly watched the season on Friday so I had to take a break and write myself some fix-it fic, lmao.
> 
> Much love to everyone in the fandom pulling together to make great art and fic that gives our heroes the happy endings they deserve!
> 
> #alluradeservedbetter

It’s Voltron’s fifth annual _Actually Showing Up On Clear Day_ Day, and technically it’s Lance’s turn to skip it. It’s probably a little immature of them to still pull this gag where one of the Paladins doesn’t show up every year, but it’s become something of a tradition that everyone looks forward to. And if there’s one thing they’ve learned in their time spent on Drazan, it’s that it’s high ranking denizens genuinely love nothing more than complaining, so who are the Paladins of Voltron to deny them of that pleasure on this, the best day of Drazan’s year, Clear Day? 

They’d started out their second official Clear Day the year after the war ended by drawing straws to decide which Paladin (other than Allura, who had inadvertently started the tradition the previous year) was going to skip the festivities, and it had been a bit of a relief when Keith had drawn the short straw because he hadn’t made the best first impression on the Drazans the first time he’d shown up, suspiciously looming about and asking questions, and they thought it might be better if there was a little more distance before he re-introduced himself. 

Shiro had also missed it that year because he’d finally gotten sick of making a fool of himself when he unthinkingly tried to cross his arms and his left hand would go straight through his right, nonexistent bicep. He’d put off getting an arm upgrade because he hadn’t wanted to seem ungrateful for the one he’d been given but, well, while it may have been cool in theory, the day to day practicality of it had fallen a little short. Getting a new arm and hand that were slimmer and more proportional to his flesh arm, and that also wasn’t missing a large chunk right in the middle had been scheduled on Earth around when Clear Day was going to occur, and while Shiro would never admit it, he’d been grateful to have Keith around when he was going through yet another procedure. A voluntary one this time, to be sure, but Shiro didn’t think he’d ever be able to spend any significant time in a medical facility without part of him feeling like he was back being experimented on by Haggar and the Galra. 

The following years had been easy to arrange, with both Shiro and Keith arriving in the Black Lion together and Hunk and Pidge skipping out on the festivities when it was their turn. And then this year came along, and it was finally Lance’s turn to miss out, and suddenly for the first time there was an issue. 

“I mean, technically there’s nothing stopping all of us from showing up,” Hunk says, in his slow, patient ‘everyone is crazy but me’ tone of voice he doesn’t get to break out as much as he used to. 

“Hunk!” Pidge says. “It’s tradition! You don’t just mess with tradition! Besides, if they can’t complain about one of us not showing up, what _are_ they going to complain about? You know it’s going to be something and at least this way we know what to expect and control it.” 

“I guess that’s fair,” Hunk agrees. “Lance, buddy, I know the Clear Day Festival is fun, we all love it, but it _is_ your turn and uh…” 

“You don’t understand…” Lance huffs. 

“Well why don’t you explain it to us?” Allura cuts in, placing a calming hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Lance, I’m sure if you have a good reason for wanting to go this year we’ll all understand, if you’d just tell us…” 

“Hey guys, why don’t you give us a moment?” Keith says suddenly. Shiro glances at him, but Keith just almost imperceptibly shrugs one shoulder at him, calm, so Shiro nods in return, ushering the others out of the room. Allura pauses to kiss Lance on the cheek, giving him a searching look but she goes without question as well. 

Lance and Keith are never going to be best friends, but they’d settled into a kind of mutual respect these days that once would have seemed unfathomable and it makes Shiro glad every time he sees it. Although in these days of peace the Paladins mostly work as a more democratic unit, Keith is still the leader, and that role fits him as well as the Blade of Marmora suit he still sometimes wears on the occasional stealth missions that still crop up from time to time. It was a role he took seriously, and while there were times when he looked to Shiro to step in to give a pep talk or help with strategy as Captain of Atlas, he had become remarkably deft at dealing with the small interpersonal crises that inevitably cropped up on any team. This was apparently one of those moments because it wasn’t five doboshes later before he and Lance emerged, both looking relieved, if slightly harried. 

“Lance will go down as one of the official Voltron Paladins with Red this year,” Keith announced. “Black will stay behind and Shiro and I will attend as civilians on one of the shuttles.” 

“Um,” Hunk said, raising a hand, but Keith just shook his head dismissing them, and everyone disbanded, Allura making inquisitive noises at Lance as they walked down the hall. 

“Civilians?” Shiro is unable to resist asking once they leave. 

“Just for the day,” Keith says. “We’ll dress down, keep a low profile. Let Lance have his day.” 

“And why is it so important for Lance to have his day?” 

“You’ll see,” Keith says with a smirk, heading in the direction of his own quarters. “I’ll meet you tomorrow to take the shuttle down.” 

**

Keith and Shiro arrive to the festival late. They know there’s no way they won’t be recognized by people even if they’re in casual clothes so they skip the initial opening ceremonies where the Lions descend, and there’s a parade and Allura makes a speech about unity along with several Drazanian officials, and honestly Shiro is kind of glad they get to miss that part. He’s good at it, he knows, and often he doesn’t mind it because he knows how important morale is, but with the war over it feels less urgent now and although he thinks he’ll never be able to give up the work they do entirely (he’d be bored to death within a week if he retired) he’s grown to really appreciate his days off when he doesn’t have to be the well respected Captain of Atlas, and can just be Shiro, the man who feels like he’s finally beginning to recover from his experiences in the war. 

It’s midday by the time they make it down, but they’ve been enough times that there isn’t any rush to see everything. The festival has grown exponentially since that first time they’d showed up. For all that the Galra were intent on obliterating any way of life that was not their own, the war ended up being the thing that brought millions of disparate cultures and lifeforms together. Clear Day has come to be a celebration of that, the tents of wares and games and food extending for miles, blazing colors and lights as far as the eye can see and all kinds of humans and aliens intermixing with the Drazans a they shuffle through the crowds. As expected, from time to time Shiro and Keith are stopped when they’re recognized, or just openly gaped at, but for the most part they’re left alone to enjoy themselves. They sample a variety of mystery foods, Shiro taking note of which ones they like and which ones should be avoided in the future. They catch a glimpse of Hunk, talking with Shae and a couple of other interplanetary dignitaries, embracing his new role as a shockingly successful diplomat. Pidge is undoubtedly at the arcades, like she always is, and Allura and Lance are nowhere to be seen. 

When the sky starts to darken they end up over by the section of the festival full of rides, and Shiro is about to turn them around to head back to the alleys full of aliens selling their various wares, vaguely thinking something might catch Keith’s eye that he could get him, but Keith pauses, a gleam in his eye before he can. 

“Come on, let’s go on this one,” Keith says, tugging at Shiro’s arm toward one of the rides. 

“Isn’t this the ride you and Hunk got stuck on?” Shiro asks dubiously, but lets himself be led to the line as Keith laughs at his expression. 

“I have my knife on me, I can get us out of there in a pinch if we need it,” Keith teases him as they’re ushered onto one of the ride’s trolleys, pulling Shiro down beside him. They’re pressed up close against each other, and Shiro feels a great swelling of gratitude that they all get to enjoy this this year, that he can feel the gentle hum at the back of his mind of the other Paladins enjoying themselves nearby, safe and content. 

The ride is just as Hunk and Keith had described it, albeit maybe a little less dramatically than their stories would have people believe. Animatronic Drazans pop up all around them, cheerfully singing about Clear Day, and Shiro can see how that might drive one crazy if you couldn’t get away from it. He looks over at Keith and marvels at how relaxed he looks now, perfectly comfortable in his skin, and while he’s still armed, and likely will spend his entire life with a blade by his side, he’s not scanning their surroundings for enemies, is just leaning casually against Shiro, a line of comforting warmth. 

“After this we should head back over to the main dining tent, I told Lance we’d all meet up to celebrate once he was successful in his mission,” Keith says, his eyes narrowing, cat-like as the lights around them flash. 

“Sounds good,” Shiro agrees. “Are you ever going to tell me what he was up to today that was so important and so secretive?” 

“Oh, I kinda thought you would have figured that out,” Keith says. “You’ve always been better at recognizing normal social stuff. He’s proposing to Allura tonight.” 

“Oh wow,” Shiro says, although he supposes it’s not really a surprise. Lance and Allura have been together for years now, and Lance was always a traditional romantic at heart. 

“Yeah,” Keith says with a pleased sigh. “He’s pretty nervous but he’s doing it anyways. I told him there was nothing to worry about, and I think part of him knows that but he’s still been all stressed out about it.” 

“No kidding,” Shiro says. 

“I guess we’re lucky in that way,” Keith says, slipping his hand into Shiro’s. Shiro squeezes it automatically, and it feels natural somehow, like they do this all the time, even though for all that they’re always reaching out to each other somehow they’ve never just held hands. 

“Lucky?” Shiro says faintly. He can feel his cheeks heat, but Keith’s are pink as well and this makes sense too, Shiro thinks, that they’re mirroring each other in this as well. 

“Yeah,” Keith says, slouching down further and laying his head on Shiro’s shoulder. Shiro disentangles his hand briefly so he can put his arm around Keith’s shoulders, slipping his fingers back into Keith’s down at his narrow waist. “We haven’t really had to worry about that in a long time. How we feel about each other. How strong our bond is. Even when I thought I wasn’t worthy, when I felt like I had to prove myself, I always knew that no matter what you’d never give up on me. You’d never leave me behind. And you know how I feel about you, right?” 

“Keith our bond was strong enough you literally found me in death and then dragged me back to life when my spirit was struggling to say in this body, through sheer force of will. Of course I know how you feel. I know that you love me in the same way that I love you,” Shiro says, and it’s true, he suddenly realizes. For all of his insecurities about whether or not he’s capable of sustaining a romantic relationship or if he’s too damaged for his own happy ending, not once did he ever worry about losing Keith, or ever doubt how Keith felt about him. Whatever their relationship, their love for each other, their bond was as immutable as the universe itself, and as long as any molecule, whisper or ghost of them existed, so would that love. 

“And yet we’re still waiting,” Keith points out. “Do you think Lance is just braver than us? When we were facing our final fight against Honerva he just went for it with Allura and we waited instead. And I’m not saying that I regret any of the time we’ve spent together over the past few years, or that I wouldn’t be happy if nothing changed between us as long as I could spend the rest of my life by your side. But I love you, in every way possible, but you keep hesitating, and that’s made me hesitate and I’m not sure why.” 

“I think for Lance it probably seemed like it was his last chance,” Shiro says, after thinking about it for a moment. The ride jostles them slightly as it turns a corner and he places his other hand on Keith’s knee to steady him. “At the time it seemed like we all might die in the final battles so I think he felt like he had to go for it with Allura or he might never get to know what that kind of love with her was like. But it felt like we already had that. Even if we never got to kiss or take that next step physically. We already knew we had that kind of love with each other, and that we’d have that love even if we died. We’ve found each other on the spiritual plane before and we know we’ll find each other there again when this is all over.” 

“No matter what, we’ll always find each other,” Keith agrees fiercely. 

“On the physical plane, after dying and getting this new body, and everything else that happened I think I just wasn’t ready to move things forward quite yet,” Shiro admits. “I was scared, not of losing you, but of having you and treating you in a way you didn’t deserve while I put myself back together again. And I knew bone deep that no matter what that you would be waiting for me when I was ready.” 

“And now?” Keith asks, eyes intent. “Do you think you’re ready now?” 

“Yeah,” Shiro breathes. “I am.” 

Over the years Shiro has had various ideas and daydreams about how his and Keith’s first kiss might have occurred, whether it would be a heated moment after a close battle, a quiet moment watching the sunset after dinner together, or on some wild new adventure on an unknown planet. He can’t say he ever thought it would happen while animatronic Drazans sang about Clear Day around them, but somehow it’s perfect anyways. Like everything he has ever done with Keith, it feels like the most natural thing in the world, slotting their lips together, bringing up one hand up to bury in that hair that’s grown long at the nape of Keith’s neck. 

“I don’t have all day here, people are waiting for the ride,” An irritable Drazanian voice interrupts them as the ride jolts to an awkward stop. Shiro pulls back and gives an apologetic smile to the Drazan running the ride as Keith gives a contented sigh. Shiro gets out first and Keith lets him help him out, their hands still intertwined as they walk back into the crowds of the festival. 

“We should find the others,” Keith says. Fireworks are beginning to go off overhead, and although Shiro has always felt the bond connecting him to Keith the most strongly, now it’s almost overwhelming, so much happiness humming between them. 

It’s easy to spot the other Paladins and Coran tucked away in a corner booth once they arrive at the main dining tent, the fabric overhead gauzy and translucent enough for them to still see the bursts of bright color in the sky as the fireworks continue. 

“Guys get over here, you’re not going to believe the news!” Hunk shouts, waving them over. 

“Act surprised,” Keith says out of the corner of his mouth, and Shiro feels like his heart might burst with the soft smile Keith sends his way before straightening out his expression. 

“Lance proposed!” Allura bursts out as they approach, face bright and joyful. 

“She said yes!” Lance exclaims, shoving Allura’s hand forward so they can all see the ring on her finger. 

“Congratulations,” Keith says, face blank in a way that once was his natural expression, but now looks out of place. “This is a huge surprise, and completely unexpected.” 

“Oh stop,” Allura says, rolling her eyes. She lets Shiro and Keith give her a congratulatory kiss on the cheek and they each get an excited back-slapping hug from Lance before Coran breaks them all up and shoves them into seats, forcing flutes of some sort of bright green bubbling liquid into their hands. 

Hunk obviously glances down at Shiro’s arm slung around Keith’s waist, then back up at them before giving a not-so-subtle thumbs up, but otherwise nobody comments about it. Shiro is grateful, after all they’re supposed to be celebrating Lance and Allura’s big day and he guesses this next step in his and Keith’s own relationship isn’t so surprising to anyone either. 

“Much like their first date, Lance’s proposal was enacted in the human tradition, however he has graciously accepted my offer of throwing them the lavish Altean wedding that Princess Allura and her betrothed deserve,” Coran announces with a flourish. “And with that good news I propose a toast to the happy couple, may their love flourish as much as the Qualotribian Beetles on New Altea have.” 

“Hear, hear,” Hunk says, lifting his glass. “To Lance and Allura.” 

“To the Paladins of Voltron, long may we all know peace,” Allura says. 

“To all of you for being here tonight to celebrate,” Lance adds. 

“To friendship and family,” Pidge says. 

“To the future,” Keith says, tipping his glass at Lance and Allura before looking into Shiro’s eyes beside him. “May we spend it together.” 

“Together,” Shiro agrees.


End file.
